Monday, March 31, 2008

"Bringing the mountain to Muhammad"

Very interesting story in the Times today - Neuberger Museum Gets Spot in Manhattan. In essence, the Neuberger Museum at Purchase College (a SUNY campus) will be getting between 3,500 and 5,000 sq. feet of exhibition space in a building on 42nd St. I love this idea, for many reasons:
  1. A 1912 building will be renovated and showcased for this project. It's not vacant or anything like that (it currently houses the SUNY State School of Optometry), but I always love to see historic buildings receive positive attention & care.
  2. The museum, which apparently is the 10th largest university museum in the country, will get the chance to showcase many of its pieces that are currently in storage. Having spent the last couple of months working in a collections department, I know how great it feels to be able to really show off your full collection.
  3. The space in Midtown will also give the museum's staff a chance to display the work of the college's graduate students, which are not permitted to show at the original museum (for some reason).
So here's to some creative thinking and collaboration in the museum/academic world! Lord knows that's not always what you get.